Man United news round-up: defender could leave, club leading hunt, key man to stay

£75,000-a-week star could leave Man United in summer

The Sun claimed last month that Manchester United were ready to loan out £31 million central defender Victor Lindelof this summer after a tough debut campaign in English football.

It was reported that a host of Premier League clubs had enquired about landing the Sweden international. And, at the time, it looked almost certain that newly promoted Wolverhampton Wanderers would be among them.

After all, Victor’s super agent is none other than Jorge Mendes, who has a very close connection with Wolves’ Chinese owners and who covered the way for Helder Costa, Ruben Neves and co to move to Molineux.

Because TEAMtalk are reporting that Portuguese manager Nuno Espirito Santo’s side have contacted Manchester United about signing the central defender this summer and are content to take Lindelof either on loan or in a permanent deal.

And it is believed that Jose Mourinho is seriously thinking about their offer with the Manchester United boss interested to sign a new centre-back upcoming summer, such as Samuel Umtiti or Raphael Varane, in a move that would press the already out-of-favour Victor further down the pecking order.

Man United leading hunt for Serie A giants versatile defender

Napoli have revealed their asking price for full-back Faouzi Ghoulam and Manchester United are now frontrunners to sign the defender, reports say. The Red Devils have been tracking the left-back for several months and were reportedly prepared to make an offer. Faouzi has also been linked with a move to Liverpool and Chelsea, but it is now believed Manchester United are leading the race.

Italian outlet Il Mattino claims United have followed Ghoulam’s progress this season ‘with great interest’ and recent developments will encourage the Red Devils to make their move. Napoli had informed suitors no bid under £44million would be entertained, but the Serie A giants have now softened their stance. An injury-laden season for Ghoulam seems to have influenced Napoli’s decision-making as the left-back has not played since November.

Napoli have lowered their asking price to £31m and are ready to listen to offers. However, Ghoulam’s transfer fee jumps up to £42m at the end of June when a new release clause kicks in. United will need to move before June 30 if they want to sign Ghoulam at a relatively bargain price.

European giants drop interest in Man United £81m-rated star

Juventus have reportedly cooled their pursuit of Manchester United central midfielder Paul Pogba for the time being.

According to states from Italian sports TV channel Rai Sport, as quoted in a report by Calciomercato, the Frenchman will not be making a move back to Juventus upcoming summer.

Pogba had been connected with a return to Serie A after enduring a difficult campaign with Manchester United.

However, it looks like Juventus will turn their attention to other midfield targets this summer transfer market, with reports stating that the prospect of a move this transfer window is not ‘feasible’.

Paul Pogba has not had a bad campaign but has come in for some criticism from parts of the Manchester United fanbase and also from his boss, Jose Mourinho.

The pair’s unfriendly relationship has been well-documented during the season but it’s understood that Jose would like to keep hold of Manchester United’s record signing for the foreseeable future.

Paul will be desperate to quiet his critics this summer, as Frenchman jets off to Russia with the French national team for the World Cup.